Send comments to FEMA

Those who managed to get out of New Orleans have dealt with enormous
hardship, and they will continue to face daunting obstacles as they
start to recover their lives. For many, this recovery process will
involve registering to receive a share of federal assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), instead of making
registration easy, has made completing its online process impossible
for all but people who use Internet Explorer Version 6 for Microsoft
Windows. Anyone trying to use a different browser will be confronted
with an error preventing them from registering unless they first
install Microsoft Windows and then download and install Internet
Explorer Version 6. People who use free operating systems like
GNU/Linux will have no way to register online.

FEMA accepts comments regarding the accessibility of their web site at
<FEMAOPA@dhs.gov>. Please
write to them and let them know why people should not be required to
use proprietary software in order to access resources they need to
survive. Please CC us on your message at <campaigns@fsf.org> so we
can publish a selection of the comments on our web site (we'll assume
it's ok to publish your name with the comment but will not publish
your e-mail address).